Sewer cam catches new view of Glen Ellyn

A Glen Ellyn public works employee works inside of a specialized truck that can broadcast underground sewers through a camera purchased this year. (Glen Ellyn Public Works, Handout)

Glen Ellyn residents may have noticed something new roaming the village's streets this year.

It's a specialized truck that can televise footage from a camera when it is lowered into underground sewer pipes.

The new tool is the latest in the public works department and an investment that is not only making the village more efficient, but will pay for itself over the next year or two.

"We're pretty fortunate to be able to acquire this equipment," said Public Works Director Julius Hansen. "It's worked out really well, and we're kind of proud of the fact that we have the capability to do in-house inspections."

The camera was purchased this year for $80,000. The truck that broadcasts the footage was handed down from the Glen Ellyn Police Department, and the village paid about $30,000 to convert it.

Public works officials use it to routinely inspect sewers throughout the village, to identify which pipes are in need of replacement. They also lower the camera during incidents such as the April flooding.

The in-house work means the village will no longer have to pay for contractors for sewer line inspections. Hansen thinks the savings will add up to more than $100,000 within the next year. The truck and camera will last about 10 years, he said.

The equipment is especially important as many pipes in the Glen Ellyn are in need of repair. The footage helps officials see which ones have cracks or may be in danger of collapsing.

The Public Works Department recently spent about $350,000 to line the sewer pipes along roughly two dozen blocks in the village. A flexible material is injected into the pipes. That hardens and essentially becomes a new pipe within the old pipe.

The village board recently approved another $150,000 to line another 12 segments, which is roughly 12 blocks. Once lined, the pipes last for another 50 or so years, Hansen said.

The sewer lining program is done in bulk. When crews inspect and identify enough pipes for repair, they contract the work out so they can get a lower price.

The tapes of camera footage is kept on a reference for future road projects or for any issues that might come up on a specific sewer line, Utilities Superintendent Bob Greenberg said in a recent report.

"The addition of this piece of equipment to the Utilities Division has raised the level of service (public works) can provide residents, made the division more efficient and saves the village money by reducing dependency on sewer televising contractors for isolated issues," he said.